Control Panel isn’t dead yet—but the System applet is looking nervous

Enlarge / We find Windows 10's Settings dialog difficult to love. (credit: Jim Salter)

You may have seen dark rumors around the Web that Microsoft is about to kill off the classic Control Panel. Rest assured, friend, we were as horrified as you are-but on more careful inspection, this seems not to be the case.

A new set of Feature IDs popped up in the latest build of Windows 10-HideSystemControlPanel, SystemControlPanelFileExplorerRedirect, and SystemControlPanelHotkeyRedirect. This looks grim-but fortunately, developer Rafael Rivera discovered they really only apply to the System applet.

Settings vs Control

For about eight years now, Microsoft has been trying to pry everyone loose from the Control Panel and guide them gently to the newer Settings applet instead. They've encountered strong resistance in doing so, particularly from systems administrators and support technicians. For one thing, the newer Settings applet is a single-instance interface-you can't have Settings open for, say, printers and the network at once. Pick one.

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